The Mask of Deception - Part I
The Mask of Deception - Part I is the first episode of Season 8: Sons of the Overlord of LEGO Ninjago & My Little Pony: Masters of Friendship and the 115th overall, being the first episode to take place after LEGO Ninjago & My Little Pony: The Movie. It is the first part of a two-part season premiere. This episode is based on the first half of LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu episode, The Mask of Deception, and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic episode, School Raze - Part 1. In this first part, Twilight Sparkle and Lloyd decide to open a School of Friendship and the School of Spinjitzu when the Cutie Map grows bigger to reflect the world beyond Ninjago, Equestria and the Sixteen Realms. Plot One Moon Later One year has passed since Krux, Acronix, and Master Wu were all lost in time and three months after the events of LEGO Ninjago & My Little Pony: The Movie. During the Dragon Day celebration in downtown Ninjago City, six masked members of the Sons of the Overlord infiltrate Borg Tower and steal the Oni Mask of Vengeance. While leaving, they are confronted by Lloyd, who fights and overpowers three of them and manages to get one of them arrested. However, Mr. E manages to escape with the Oni Mask after a big chase in Lloyd's Ninja Nightcrawler, causing Lloyd to tell P.I.X.A.L. it was time to get the crew back together. Meanwhile, at the Castle of Friendship, the Mane Six brings Starlight Glimmer about the expansion of the Cutie Map beyond Equestria. During Twilight Sparkle and her friends' journey beyond Equestria, the Cutie Map has expanded to include the various locations they visited, including Klugetown, the pirate ship, and Mount Aris. Tempest Shadow, the former lieutenant of the Storm King, has left to travel Equestria and spread the word of the Storm King's defeat. Realizing that there are so many creatures beyond Equestria who know nothing about friendship, Twilight decides to open a friendship school. At the School for Gifted Unicorns, Twilight informs Princess Celestia of her plans, and Celestia gives her full approval and support. When Twilight bombards Celestia with questions on how to run the school properly, Celestia tells her that her time as Celestia's pupil has already more than prepared her. In addition, Celestia informs Twilight that her school plans must be approved by the Equestria Education Association—or E.E.A.—the leading authority on all school-related matters. Opening a School The other Ninja are on various missions around Ninjago. Nya is dealing with a group of samurais in a valley, Cole and Jay are searching for Master Wu at an ancient temple, and Kai and Zane are battling the Mechanic. Once the Ninja team gets back together, Hutchins appears and tells the Ninja about the Oni Masks. The Ninja are then told that the Royal Palace is holding the Oni Mask of Deception. Hutchins fears the Sons of the Overlord will try to take the mask during a speech the Emperor of Ninjago will give tomorrow and asks the Ninja to help protect it, and the Ninja accept. Speaking of accepting an invitation to the Royal Palace, Lloyd, as a new Master, decided to teach the young by opening the school, in order to become new Elemental Masters. Jay says that he remembers the time the Ninja were at the previous school, now being closed down due to endangering students. However, in order to open the school, Lloyd must endure the E.E.A., as Ninjago Education Authority (N.E.A.) has made a deal for the school to be government-owned. The Ninja went to the N.E.A. Building to get an approval for opening the school. They meet Michelle Norton, the CEO of the N.E.A. and made an offer to open the new school. Michelle states the Ninja that E.E.A. has working with N.E.A. to provide a school environment for them to enjoy, as she told them that they must seek Chancellor Neighsay. Lloyd decided to go to E.E.A. to settle the problem. Michelle was later called by Andrea Thompson and May Robson, two of the Ninjago City Councilwomen, about the suspect of the biker gang, who have been released from Kryptarium Prison. When Twilight, Lloyd and Spike meet with the E.E.A.'s hard-nosed Chancellor Neighsay, Twilight assures him and his council that her friendship curriculum will make Equestria a safer place. Neighsay places an emphasis on teaching ponies rather than other creatures, but he and the council accept Twilight's plans and grant provisional approval for the opening of her school. The School of Friendship and the School of Spinjitzu Some time later, the School of Friendship is officially opened near Twilight's castle. To realize her goal of teaching friendship to others, Twilight has appointed her friends as teachers and Starlight Glimmer as a guidance counselor. Some of the ponies are unsure about their qualifications to be teachers, but Twilight is confident that everything will be fine as long as they follow the E.E.A.'s guidelines. The school doors open, and Twilight's friends discover that she has invited not just ponies to be school students but also dragons, griffons, yaks, changelings, and Hippogriffs. As the students get settled in, several key characters start to interact with their new teachers as well as each other: an easygoing Earth pony named Sandbar, a sarcastic griffon named Gallus, a cheerful but clumsy yak named Yona, a gruff dragon named Smolder, a shy changeling named Ocellus, and a hyperactive Hippogriff named Silverstream. The School of Spinjitzu is opened at the same time at the southwestern side of Ninjago City, and the Ninja, who became as teachers are willing for the students to enjoy class, while setting them for the new guidance counselor of their school. The school has opened its doors to not only citizens in Ninjago City, but the other Sixteen Realm inhabitants, like Skulkin, Serpentine, Nindroids, ghosts and Cloud Kingdom monks have joined in. While the students are settling for their orientation, Lil' Nelson, one of the Ninja's biggest fan, meets new students as one of the key characters, alongside Felix Flame, a hot-headed Serpentine like Kai, Kimberly Walker, Jay's younger sister, Damien Crystalrock, a ghost who is stronger than anyone and a mountain climber like Cole, Zachary Nison, a timid and smart Nindroid like Zane and Caralisa Todd, a monk who has determination like Nya. In her first address to the new students, Twilight welcomes them to the school and invites them to "Friends and Family Day" so that students' family members can see their education progress, the same program for Lloyd, too. In the song School of Friendship, both teachers and students are bright-eyed and hopeful for the classes to come. However, as days pass and Twilight and Lloyd force their friends' lessons to be in accordance with the E.E.A.'s guidelines, the fun that the rest of the Ninja, the Mane Six and the students are having rapidly dwindles. Doing it by the book As some of the students get bored and frustrated with their classes and teachers, they start to argue amongst themselves. Smolder challenges Yona's claims that yaks have the best of everything, and Gallus criticizes Sandbar's soft pony sensibilities. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Starlight Glimmer break up the argument and tell the students to get to class. With their students arguing around them instead of learning about friendship, the ponies wonder if they are cut out to be teachers. A problem occurs when Zachary was disappointed about the changes in the timetable. As a sad Nindroid, their friends cheer them up, but Caralisa, warns her classmates that the biker gang named the Sons of the Overlord tries to take the second Oni Mask, the Oni Mask of Deception. Before telling Headmaster Lloyd about the news, a bullying broke out outside the school compounds, with Kimberly bullied by two of her schoolmates. Her classmates defend against her, but the two boys got apprehended by Jay and Cole. Jay tells his younger sister to stand tall against bullying, and with the absence of the guidance counselor, they seek help with Lloyd. The next day, in Twilight's office, the ponies complain to her about their lack of teaching progress. But Twilight assures them that, despite their rough start, they will be fine as long as they stick to the E.E.A.'s guidelines. Starlight suggests a teaching method not outlined by the E.E.A., but Twilight says Chancellor Neighsay will be visiting later for Friends and Family Day to make sure the guidelines are being followed. Frustrated with the boring lessons, Gallus and Smolder decide to ditch class to take a "mental health break". Sandbar, Silverstream, Yona, and Ocellus join them with the assurance that they will be back in time for Friends and Family Day. Before Fluttershy nearly catches them playing hooky, Ocellus disguises herself as Rarity and says she is taking the others on a field trip to the lake. Her quick-thinking is met by Smolder's approval. At the School of Spinjitzu, the six youngsters skip class, as Caralisa states that the timetable are all mixed up, despite being a same class. Nonetheless, Nelson brings them to the library to relax for awhile. Friends and Family Day While they are guarding the palace outside during the Emperor of Ninjago's speech, Lloyd notices Harumi. Someone sets off firecrackers, leading the Ninja to think the palace is being attacked, but it is a false alarm. The Ninja are then invited by the princess to stay at the palace because the Royal Family may be targeted since they have one of the Oni Masks. The Ninja accept the invitation, but Lloyd asked them to be back in school, for Friends and Family Day. Later that day, Chancellor Neighsay arrives at the School of Friendship to check on Twilight's progress. Rainbow Dash informs Twilight and Starlight that her students are gone, but the three of them keep this a secret from Neighsay and distract him. Meanwhile, as Gallus, Silverstream, Smolder, Yona, Sandbar, and Ocellus spend time together at the lake, they start to get along better than earlier, and Ocellus impresses her new friends with her changeling transformations. A carnival was held outside the School of Spinjitzu, with the students joining clubs, uniformed groups, sport teams and societies, while planning to have night activities in the evening. Michelle and Hutchins were impressed with one of the students' artwork, while more students are even signing up for the school admission. Michelle, along with Andrea and May, asked the Ninja that the school is following the E.E.A. guidelines. At the lake outside the school, ponies and various other creatures gather together for Friends and Family Day. Just as Twilight and Neighsay join them, the students return from ditching class, with Ocellus disguised as a giant insect-like monster. The event attendees erupt into a panic, and Neighsay believes the school is under attack. When the students inadvertently make a mess of Friends and Family Day, Neighsay perceives it as an act of aggression, and Twilight apologizes on behalf of her students. Meanwhile, while Friends and Family Day carnival is ongoing, the students ditched class, when Kimberly encountered two bullies they fought earlier. However, as the celebrations continue, a fight occurs between the students, with an unsettled arguments. The Ninja and the onlookers saw the students are fighting, and apologised to Michelle about the incident. As Michelle decided to accept the Ninja with second chance, a call from Chancellor Neighsay came as he tells that the school is dangerous for accepting students from other realms to join the school, aside from humans in Ninjago and Ponies in Equestria. As she end the call, Michelle stated that the school is going to shut down in favour, due to the teachers teaching the species other than humans. Neighsay is shocked to learn that Twilight has non-ponies among her students, calling the other races "dangerous" and believing they would use Twilight's lessons against Equestria. As Michelle ask Selma, the Walkers and Fenwick to not send students to school, resulting in suspension from all the other species. Thorax, Ember, Prince Rutherford, and Grampa Gruff take extreme offense to Neighsay's insinuations and pull the students they represent out of the school. Because Twilight and Lloyd failed to meet the E.E.A.'s high-reaching standards, Chancellor Neighsay shuts down both the School of Friendship and the School of Spinjitzu and puts a magical lock on their doors. Cast *Andrea Thomson - Tabitha St. Germain *Applejack - Ashleigh Ball *Caralisa Todd - Dewyn Dalton *Cole - Kirby Morrow *Damien Crystalrock - Cole Howard *Ed Walker - Colin Murdock *Edna Walker - Marcy Goldberg *Ember - Ali Miner *Emperor of Ninjago - Richard Newman *Empress of Ninjago - Ellen Kennedy *Felix Flame - Giles Panton *Fenwick - Paul Dobson *Gallus - Gavin Langelo *Grandpa Gruff - Richard Ian Cox *Harumi - Britt McKillip *Hutchins - Alan Marriott *Jay - Michael Adamthwaite *Kai - Vincent Tong *Kimberly Walker - Shannon Chan-Kent *Lil' Nelson - David Reynolds *Lloyd Garmadon - Sam Vincent *May Robson - Kelly Sheridan *Michelle Norton - Mariee Devereux *Neighsay - Maurice LaMarche *Nya - Kelly Metzger *Ocellus - Dewyn Dalton *Pinkie Pie - Andrea Libman (Shannon Chan-Kent as her singing voice) *Prince Rutherford - Garry Chalk *Princess Celestia - Nicole Oliver *Rainbow Dash - Ashleigh Ball *Rarity - Tabitha St. Germain (Kazumi Evans as her singing voice) *Sandbar - Vincent Tong *Seaspray - Christopher Graze *Selma - Shirley Millner *Silverstream - Lauren Jackson *Smolder - Shannon Chan-Kent *Spike - Cathy Weseluck *Starlight Glimmer - Kelly Sheridan *The Mechanic - Alan Marriott *Thorax - Kyle Rideout *Twilight Sparkle - Tara Strong (Rebecca Shoichet as her singing voice) *Yona - Katrina Salisbury *Zachary Nison - Gavin Langelo *Zane - Brent Miller Transcript *The Mask of Deception - Part I (Transcript) Songs *We Got the Beat! *School of Friendship Locations Visited *Ninjago **Ninjago City ***Borg Tower ***Royal Palace ***School of Spinjitzu ***N.E.A. Building *Equestria **Ponyville ***Castle of Friendship ***School of Friendship **Canterlot ***School of Gifted Unicorns Differences between this episode, a Ninjago episode "The Mask of Deception" and MLP episode, "School Daze - Part 1" *After reuniting the Ninja, Lloyd decided to open the school to become new Elemental Masters. *Neighsay demands both the schools to shut down for not following the E.E.A. guidelines. Trivia *The plot of this episode is a reference to the 1907 song "School Days". *This is Princess Harumi's first appearance. *Eleven minutes of this episode were released as a sneak peak on the Blu-ray release of The LEGO Ninjago Movie. A sneak-peek of this episode was also shown at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con. *Twilight Sparkle replaces Master Wu as the narrator of the episode titles. Excluding "Equestria Girls shorts," this is the first time in the show that someone else other than Master Wu has narrated the episode titles. *This episode marks the return of the use of 2-parters in a season premiere after it being absent in The Pillars of Time. *Animatics of the episode were broadcast during Discovery Family's Pony Palooza marathon from March 17-24, 2018. *Several things are revealed in this episode: **It is stated by Cole that it has been a year since Master Wu was lost in time. **During the Mane Six journey to stop the Storm King, the Cutie Map has expanded to include the various locations they visited, including Klugetown, the pirate ship, and Mount Aris. **Misako has been searching for Master Wu on her own and no one—not even Lloyd—knows where she is now. ***But as of "Dread on Arrival," she returns, having been captured by the Sons of the Overlord after finding the de-aged Wu. *This episode marks the first appearance of the Young Six and the Young Ninja. **Sandbar makes a brief cameo appearance in "My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Forgotten Friendship". **Lil' Nelson was last seen in Season 6 episode, "Crystal to Famed - Part I". *The Mechanic has a cameo in this episode but this time with a different voice actor. *There is a statue of Khanjikhan behind glass in Borg Tower, despite the events of Season 6 being erased. *There is a Mega Monster Amusement Park mask behind glass. *This is the first episode to take place after LEGO Ninjago & My Little Pony: The Movie. *This is the first episode in which Sam Vincent voices Lloyd. **Once the Ninja had gotten back together, Cole and Zane pointed out how Lloyd's voice had gotten deeper, referring to his new voice actor. *P.I.X.A.L. returns, acting as a guide to Lloyd in his Ninja Nightcrawler in his chase with Mr. E. *Nya has a new civilian outfit similar to hers from The LEGO Ninjago Movie. *Cole speculates the possibility that if Wu was sent to the past, then a ripple effect could have caused their appearances to change without their knowledge, referencing their design changes. However, in the following episodes, the Ninjas' old designs are still seen in the character's newly animated flashbacks and photos. The Hageman Brothers stated that it is the canonical explanation for the Ninjas' redesigns, but according to Tommy Andreasen, there is no real canonical reason and it is simply a fourth-wall-breaking meta joke. *When asked on Twitter in August 2018 about the absence of other members of the EEA introduced in this episode, Miller replied, "All those characters would need full animation flash rigs, voice actors and a purpose in the story" and that "they just weren't needed to tell the story effectively." *The only Oni Mask not to appear in this episode is the Oni Mask of Hatred. This is due to it being in the Oni Temple. *The suits the Sons of the Overlord wear has the same color scheme to the Ninja's suits. *The beginning of this episode foreshadows the finale of the season with Mr. E jumping off the cliff and at the end of the season and with Lloyd jumping off the monorail. *When Mr. E and the other Sons of the Overlord members are running across the monorail, the train has the Sons of the Overlord symbol on it, which you can see if you pause the video at the right time. Errors *When Mr. E jumps off his bike, he does not take his mask with him. When he is on the boat, he gets it somehow. Gallery The_Mask_of_Deception_Part_1_Title_Card.png|Title card 46901845-F144-4ACB-B49A-44AD009B0FA4.png